Good luck Tim!

The giant Tim picture you can print and cut out. This and header image: courtesy UK Space Agency.

When the clock reaches zero, an enormous great rocket should blast off from Kazakhstan, launching the UK’s first male astronaut into orbit. Tim Peake’s Principia mission aboard the International Space Station is a big deal, as you might have noticed from the vast media coverage.

Watch the launch live on BBC1 with Dara O’Brien and Brian Cox, with Dallas Campbell reporting from Baikonur Cosmodrome, and find out more at the Principia mission website. They’ve a terrific range of materials, including a poster PDF to print and (our favourite) a giant photo of Tim you can print out life-size, mount on cardboard, and leave standing around. Or carry with you on the bus, or something.

They also have information about the experiments Tim will be undertaking during his mission, activity packs and other ways to get involved, and a range of space careers information (click ‘Download resources’ and scroll down).

Good luck, Tim! We’ll be watching.